Back in November 2013 Phase One of an OSHA sponsored Stand Down took place for the Oil and Gas Industry. Similarly, OSHA is planning a stand down for construction workers in order to help prevent falls during the week of June 2-6. According to the OSHA website falls are the leading cause of death for construction workers with 269 construction deaths out of a total of 775 being related to falls in 2012. Also fall prevention standards were the most cited standards by OSHA in 2012. OSHA hopes that this safety stand down will help remind companies and workers how important fall prevention is.
OSHA has provided resources on how to hold a successful safety stand down. Their website lists these steps:
1.) Try to start early: Get organized!
2.) Think about asking others like owners, subcontractors, architects and engineers to participate
3.) Consider reviewing your fall prevention program
4.) Develop activities and presentations that fit the needs of your employees
5.) Decide when and for how long you will hold your safety stand down
6.) Talk up your safety stand down: make workers excited and interested in it
7.) Hold your stand down: make it positive and interactive
8.) Follow up when it is finished: suggestions might be made for improvement of your safety program, take these into consideration
OSHA’s goal is to have over 25,000 employers and 500,000 workers hold and participate in the Stand Down. They figured if they meet that goal almost 1 out of every 10 construction worker will have been touched in the country! What a great thing! OSHA is providing educational materials as well as a certificate of completion on their Stand Down website.
High quality safety products such as SLIPNOT plate, expanded metal, grating and ladder rungs can all have a huge impact on reducing the number of slip and falls on construction sites as well as any other type of work place. Products can be purchased pre-fabricated for new construction or for retrofitting over a slippery work area. The non slip products can also be purchased in stock sizes for fabrication in the field.
Information for this blog was pulled from the OSHA website: https://www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown/index.html
